A Zoo Birthday

Birthday boy’s choice was to go to the zoo. We got there within the hour the zoo opened, but it was still buzzing with people. I don’t think I have ever gone to a zoo on a Saturday. Lots of people go to the zoo on Saturday (which is why I haven’t, I assume). There again were no paper maps, so we just wandered along, letting whatever we found be a surprise. A good way to zoo, I think.

One lizard jumped out and scared me (meaning I didn’t see him, then I did, and I jumped a mile).

There was a long line to feed giraffe tasty leafy sticks. I assume they were tasty because the giraffes were very interested in getting them. There were two giraffes who walked up to a balcony where people could take turns feeding them. For some reason, the zoo folk directed most of the people to the giraffe on the right. The one on the left tried coming over for some leafy sticks, but the zoo people told him to go back to his side. My favorite part of our lengthy watching was when he was just peeking around the side of his area – if I go over here, will I get more?

There were a LOT of animals at this zoo. Unfortunately, there were a lot of wire cages. It made pictures hard, and sometimes it made seeing the animals hard. They had an extraordinary number of very, very cool birds – there were several bird buildings, but also there were birds in cages. It seemed really different than the MN zoo.

It was the first day of the Festival of Food on a Stick. What? Are they trying to be the MN State Fair? Nice try, San Antonio Zoo. You have a long way to go. First off, I didn’t actually see any food on a stick. None. Well, I did read a sign that offered cotton candy, which is in effect on a stick, if you call a cone a stick. Second, finding the “festival” food was quite difficult. It was strange. I could market better for them, if they asked.

A lot of animals were up and going. We lingered at a lot of enclosures and watched. I was very interested that most people spend very, very little time at each animal. Tamarin – check. Lion – check. Okapi – check. I guess that is why it is easy to have a lot of people at the zoo, but not feel crowded. They come and they go. It was forecast to be 94, but it was only in the 70s until mid afternoon, when the sun burned off the cloud cover. We finished the trails about then, so it was perfect.

Keith chose our late lunch to be at Salt Grass Steakhouse. It was marvelous. I picked out tenderloin tips and mushrooms in a sauce over mashed potatoes before I realized it was only on the weekday lunch menu. Darn. I asked and our server said no, not on weekends. Then he came back and said the kitchen would be happy to make it for me. I felt like it was my birthday. Keith had steak for lunch and ordered a side of smoked mac and cheese for dessert. (We have nutty bars in the room for a sweet treat. What could be better than mac and cheese, then nutty bars?) (Well, obviously, pudding stuff. But we have no kitchen, so there is no birthday pudding stuff like birthdays always have at home.)

The steakhouse is across the highway from our hotel. Maps said we could walk, so we wandered down the block and found stoplights on the frontage road and very easily made it home. It was decidedly weird to be walking so close to so many fast cars, then to walk over a major highway.

We got back in the time for a stupidly timed (very late) nap. We have to be up before dawn to go to the airport and now I wonder if we will be able to sleep. But that nap was so great.